The convoy comes to Canberra

A convoy of trucks protesting against the proposed carbon tax approach Parliament House.

ABC News: Jim Trail

The cranky anti-government protesters who've trucked into the nation's capital say their beef is not with the people of Canberra - it's with the politicians.

They've come from the far corners of the county to demand a fresh election - a double dissolution, no less, despite the fact that it's not constitutionally possible just now. They want an end to the minority Gillard Government and its alliance with the Greens.

The protesters are carting a grab-bag of grievances that gets heavier by the day. It's bulging with complaints about the carbon tax, the suspension of live cattle exports, the Murray Darling Basin Plan, the National Broadband Network, apple imports and more. As organiser Mick Pattel says, "It's just the total incompetence of the Government. Everything that they've done has been a disaster. They just haven't done anything right."

Some Canberra residents passionately share the protesters' concerns and support their aims. Others most vehemently don't. But as the Convoy of No Confidence rolls into town it's hard not to feel that we Canberrans are in the firing line, even if it's not intentional.

"Help!" says one woman. "I've got an early medical appointment and I have to get across town. What am I supposed to do - camp outside the hospital all night?"

A Canberra father tells me he has to drop off his kids at childcare then get to work - and his wife is eight-and-a-half months pregnant. (Expectant parents in Canberra are particularly jittery at the moment - a woman was forced to give birth in her car last week because of a peak hour traffic jam on a major city link road.)

Schools were advised to come up with contingency plans in case teachers were late, some bosses advised their employees to work from home for the day.

The convoy organisers have been liaising with local police to minimise traffic disruption. They say they don't want to inconvenience residents going about their day-to-day business, but with hundreds of trucks, vans and other vehicles on the road and thousands of people rallying there will inevitably be some discomfort for the locals. The politicians who are the real target can, if they choose, remain hermetically sealed in Parliament House.

It seems a little churlish to complain about the possibility of being late for work or missing an appointment when fellow Australians have travelled thousands of kilometres at great cost because they honestly believe that their livelihoods are at stake and no-one cares. That's one view. Another view is why the hell are these people with their mass-produced-in-China flags clogging up the streets, trampling the lawns and polluting the air when they aren't going to get what they want anyway?

As it turned out, Canberrans suffered an unexpected inconvenience from the Convoy of No Confidence. During the morning peak fewer than 200 trucks rolled down the main drag for the early parade around Parliament House, nowhere near the huge numbers expected. There was no traffic congestion - which meant many people, who'd been prepared for long delays actually arrived at work an hour or so early. Others who'd seized the opportunity to sleep in had to make up excuses as to why they were late. Meantime charities around the region have been left with thousands of uncooked sausages as the expected sizzles have fizzled.

In the end it doesn't really matter what Canberrans think. Those of us who choose to live in the National Capital can't have it both ways. We can't have easy access to great national institutions and a front seat at big national celebrations and history making events without the noise and disruption that's inevitable when democracy gets messy as it does when protesters come to town. And sometimes it's great theatre.

This Canberran – who has also lived in other cities, in the bush and in the outback – has a few polite requests for visiting protesters. Don't equate the people of Canberra with the federal politicians who work here now and then. Don't get cranky with us. Try not to trash our town - it's our home. And if you get the chance, go and see the Fred Williams retrospective exhibition at the National Gallery. His paintings of our beautiful land leave most of us speechless.